Bicyclist dies on off-road trip

An unidentified man died yesterday while riding his bicycle in a remote part of the West Barnstable Conservation Area, fire officials said.

K.C. MYERS

WEST BARNSTABLE — An unidentified man died yesterday while riding his bicycle in a remote part of the West Barnstable Conservation Area, fire officials said.

At about 1 p.m., the West Barnstable Fire Department received an emergency cell phone call from a relative who was with the stricken man on an off-road biking expedition, West Barnstable Fire Chief Joseph Macura said.

The man, whose identity was not released by Barnstable police last night, had been riding his bicycle when he suddenly collapsed, Macura said.

It took nearly an hour for rescuers to locate the man because the relative he was with could not provide the pair's location inside the 1,100-acre forest, Macura said.

Barnstable police received a call from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Department at 1:45 p.m. asking for help locating the man. The call came in as a "Code 99," which means the man had no pulse, Barnstable police Sgt. Mark Mellyn said.

A state police helicopter was called in to help spot the cyclist. But the man was found by rescuers before the helicopter arrived, Mellyn said.

Before help got to the scene, the man's relative stayed on his cell phone with a West Barnstable fire official, who instructed him on how to give CPR until rescuers arrived. Rescuers continued with chest compressions as they carried the man on foot to a pickup truck, which drove him to a waiting ambulance.

The man had no pulse for close to an hour, Macura said.

Twelve firefighters and Barnstable Natural Resources officers assisted in the search. A West Barnstable EMT suffered heat exhaustion while carrying heavy equipment along the dirt trails. She was taken to Cape Cod Hospital for treatment and was expected to recover fully, Macura said.

Police last night declined to provide further details about the incident.